Zeman: V4 should support Poland, Hungary in EU budget battle

The Visegrád Four should unanimously support Poland and Hungary in their rejection of the new EU budget, President Miloš Zeman told a press conference on Wednesday following a working meeting with Polish head of state Andrzej Duda.

The two presidents met ahead of an EU summit that will be devoted to the next budgetary period, from 2021-2027. Duda told journalists that there were signs an agreement could be reached in Brussels but that work continued.

Both Poland and Hungary have vetoed the current draft EU budget for tying disbursements – including a 750 billion-euro economic-recovery fund – to democratic standards. Warsaw and Budapest argue that the so-called conditionality threatens their government and makes them targets for funding cuts.

The director of the Foreign Department of Prague Castle, Rudolf Jindrák, said the meeting took place at the request of Poland, which now chairs the Visegrad Four, which includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.